The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore perceptions involving job performance and job-related changes experienced by small business IT operation employees following ITIL service operation implementation. Four major thematic findings that emerged from the data pertained to leadership understanding and support, preparation and training, patience amidst changes to ITIL cultures, and
commitments to continuous improvement efforts.
In this chapter, I discuss the four major themes which helped to answer the research questions and conclusions from these findings. Discussion of the four major themes involves previously published findings and the job performance theory as the conceptual framework. The following interpretations include the ways findings confirm, disconfirm, and extend related knowledge. Additional acknowledgements of the
limitations of this study lead to recommendations for leaders and researchers, concluding with implications of the study for positive social change.
Interpretation of Findings
Answers to the three research questions stemmed from the four major thematic findings that emerged from the data. Two of the research question pertained to changes that occurred as a result of ITIL implementation. RQ1 pertained to job-related changes that small business IT operation employees experienced with the implementation of ITIL. RQ3 was about how small business IT operation employees described changes in job performance after the implementation of ITIL . The majority of participants in the sample described positive job-related and performance changes following ITIL implementation.
Positive job-related changes as well as job performance improvements that participants described appeared to be dependent on leadership understanding and support, preparation and training, patience amidst changes, and commitments to continuous improvement efforts.
RQ2 was about how small business IT operation employees described their job performance after the implementation of ITIL service operations. The majority of participants in the sample reported job performance experiences that were positive and encouraging following ITIL implementation. Improved job performance experiences reported by the participants in the sample similarly stemmed from a leadership
orientation toward supportive resources, opportunities for growth in knowledge and skills that occur within an ITIL-oriented organizational culture, and multi-level involvement in strategic and proactive continuous improvement efforts.
Campbell (1990) identified significant predictors or determinants of an individual’s job performance, which included motivation, declarative knowledge,
procedural knowledge, and skills. In this study, findings were consistent with these tenets of job performance theory, in that positive perceptions of job performance and reported experiences of positive changes to job performance following ITIL implementation stemmed from adequate leadership support, preparation, and training, which motivated employees. Leadership support, preparation, and training enhanced knowledge and skills required to motivate employees toward improved performance outcomes. This was especially apparent in the findings that participants who had positive perceptions of leadership support and training described being motivated toward performance
enhancement; participants who described less optimal experiences reported a lack of motivation or relatively fewer positive job-related changes following ITIL
implementation. These findings are consistent with the ideas expressed by Campbell et al. (1993), who postulated that differences in job performance may be a function of major performance determinants, including support for the building of knowledge and skills.
Further described by Adjali (2017) was how behavior and results relate to performance; while behaviors are actions, results are changes that stem from behaviors, and performance is the organizational value of behaviors that remains an ongoing concern of modern businesses. According to the majority of participants in this study, viewed in light of the job performance theory, the enhanced performance that can stem from ITIL implementation is a consequence of the value of their changes in behavior that led to improved results. These changes in behavior had greater value to the business when driven by leadership support and understanding, and training that led to a change in culture and continuous improvement efforts.
Training and support were not the only factors that participants believed led to post-ITIL implementation performance improvements. As Borman and Motowidlo (1997) also concluded, there are other organizational enabling factors that also enhance or hinder individual performance, also known as contextual performance. Contextual activities are the organizational and social activities that indirectly aid individual performance; Bormon and Motowidlow argued that these concepts encompass
organizational behavior that could predict job performance. As expressed by the majority of participants in this study, one can view these types of contextual factors and
organizational behaviors as a type of organizational culture. In this study, the ITIL organizational culture took time to develop and nurture, but ultimetley led to the perceptions of improvements in employee and organizational perforamnce.
To extend insight into the scope of employee performance, Pradhan and Jena (2017) and Park and Park (2019) emphasized other aspects of working situations that could affect job performance: uncertainty and unpredictable work situations,
interpersonal adaptability, proactivity, and attitude, among others. These four factors, in particular, were consistent with the experiences expressed by the sample in this study. For example, there were data about how ITIL implementation moved employees and their organizations from “fire-fighting” to “proactive and strategic.” There was a prominence in the dataset of concepts related to adaptability, which required patience, preparation, support, and continuous effort, especially in interpersonal, multi-level, and team contexts. There was a consensus that emerged from the data that ITIL
implementation helped to mitigate uncertainties and unpredictability, and in some cases might even lead to a sense of over-structure. Nevertheless, these concepts revolved around the attitudes of employees and aligned well with the previous focus of Pradhan and Jena, and of Park and Park, on predictors of job performance as extensions of the job performance theory.
Motivation, as previously identified by Campbell et al. (1996) as integral to job performance, stems from conditions and actions that encourage one toward optimally accomplishing a job or activity (Rasmi et al., 2017). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation within organizations can affect workforce stability, growth, productivity, and job
satisfaction (Quesado et al., 2016). The majority of participants in the sample expressed increased motivation (post-ITIL implementation) from intrinsic elements related to feelings of improved job satisfaction and extrinsic elements, such as the appreciation expressed by others as a result of improved work outcomes and process experiences. The concepts of self-adopted work behaviors and self-efficacy, as also dicussed in prior literature (Quesado et al., 2016; Rasmi et al., 2017; Weseler & Niessen, 2016), was not a focus in this study and did not appear to emerge from the data as a major thematic finding. However, the implication from the four major themes is that leadership support and training within an ITIL-oriented culture revolving around continuous improvement efforts, could enhance self-efficacy which might positively shape self-adopted work behaviors.
Similarly, Weseler and Niessen (2016) and Groen et al. (2017) highlighted employee participation in the development of performance measures and perceived measurement quality, as well as perceived control over performing well and job performance. While these related concepts were beyond the scope of this study, the emphasis of participants on the continuous improvement orientation as part of a post- ITIL implementation culture, was an indication that performance measurements and quality were important to them. However, in association with the focus on improvement efforts, there was also an emphasis in company documents on “continuous
experimentation and learning” as an “underlying philosophy” and “principle” that allows “for a degree of experimentation without fear of failure.” The idea appears to be
consistent with the concept of a certain degree of employee control with respect to their performance measures and improvement efforts.
The first major themes revolves around leadership understanding and support, which is consistent with the volume of research findings about the impact of leadership on employee performance and experiences. For example, many research study
conclusions were that leadership and human resource practices are influential on the performance of employees, especially helpful for adopting business practices in various change contexts (Cuéllar-Molina et al., 2019). In general, invested leadership influences employee performance (Mittal, 2016), which participants in this similarly expressed.
The second major theme pertained to preparation and training. From the
previously published literature, findings were that change processes that include adequate training can counter the negative effects of job redesign (Ibrahim et al., 2017).
Conclusions drawn by Okundaye et al. (2019) in the small business setting, was that leaders must identify the training needs of skilled and determine the optimal leadership that can enhance employee and organizational success amidst IT-related changes. These findings aligned with participants’ experiences that proper training led to new skills acquisition that could positively influence their work performance. Additional findings from previous literature were that ITIL improved the service-oriented focus for IT employees, but implementation barriers included lack of appropriate employee education and managerial time commitment that undermined employee motivation. According to participants in the study, appropriate employee education starts with leadership
The third major theme pertained to the development of a patient ITIL-oriented organizational culture. Prior conclusions drawn were that organizational culture and leadership enhanced employee engagement, which could improve an employee’s
performance (Bhuvanaiah & Raya, 2016). Although engagement was not a specific focus of this study, participants did verbally link leadership with culture and performance. Humphries et al. (2016) similarly focused on attention to employees’ needs, concerns, and experiences in their workplaces and daily tasks, which are aspects of the ITIL- oriented organizational culture that participants discussed. Bertsen (2018), following the work of earlier authors, discussed bureaucratic, innovative, and supportive cultures when applied to concepts such as ITIL implementation, as discussed in Chapter 2. Participants in this study appeared to describe a supportive culture (known as friendly, helpful and harmonious with trust, equity, relationships, and collaboration) as a preferable context for ITIl implementation growth in their small businesses.
The fourth major theme revolved around commitments to continuous
improvement efforts. Implementation of the ITIL itself is a quality improvement tool and technique to standardize IT services; accordingly, it can help small businesses achieve customer satisfaction goals and maximize information service processes to increase IT service quality (Obwegeser et al., 2019). Yet, there is an ongoing need for small business leaders to implement quality improvement continuously to maximize benefits and
minimize potential drawbacks that small business ITIL project leaders might encounter (Eikebrokk & Iden, 2016). Bernsten (2017) similarly claimed that businesses need to focus more on continuous improvements of ITIL processes and experiences following
implementation, which is what participants in this study also explained. Emphasis of prior studies has been on staff participation in process improvements to motivate
employees toward achieving organizational goals (Elbaz & Haddoud, 2017). Consistent with the findings in this research were the previous assertions that management practices oriented toward continuous improvements among the workforce enhance performance (Bloom et al., 2016). Echoed by participants was the idea advanced by Sastry-Akella and Venketeswara (2016) in their model of performance enhancement, which included feedback, follow-up action and appreciation to motivate and demonstrate organizational support and continuously improve upon IT efforts. As Jantti and Kallinen (2017)
concluded, and participants similarly shared, a trained and rewarded workforce becomes skilled and motivated, which inspires service excellence, and affects the customer experience positively, resulting in increased customer satisfaction leading further into increased service sales and organizational growth.
Limitations of the Study
A potential limitation of this qualitative research pertains to potential biases that may emerge during the data collection and analysis process, due to the subjective nature and smaller samples used in qualitative research, in comparison to quantitative or mixed methods (Morgado et al., 2017). The representation of six companies in the sample, along with the review of related documents, triangulation of data from multiple sources and informants, and the identification of discrepant findings helped to eliminate bias from sampling and interpretations. The selection of the conceptual framework of the study was also pertinent to the interpretation of findings; however, a comprehensive review of the
related research and a comparison of findings from previous research efforts with similar study interests demonstrated an appropriate applicability of the job performance theory to this research effort.
The geographic location of the study was Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia, with a focus on small businesses IT employees. As a multiple case study of small business IT employees, the findings from this research are not readily transferable to other IT employees in other locations or types of businesses. I was able to reach and recruit participants to form a convenient sample appropriate for qualitative case studies and participants were willing to provide the data necessary for data saturation and for answering the research questions. In this research, it was not possible to prove that accounts of experiences provided by participants were truthful reflections of their actual experiences; however, the reported experiences of participants well-aligned with the findings in the previously published literature, while adding new insights about the experiences if small business IT employees tasked with ITIL implementation at the service operations levels.
Recommendations
From the literature reviewed and data analyzed for this study, several themes emerged, which can represent recommendations for leaders: understand, train, patiently promote, and improve. ITIL projects are classified by the type of action, regardless of the size and core ITIL is a benchmark for IT service management, which focuses on
processes, people, and technology. For certain cases, though, the introduction of ITIL is seen as yet another development initiative. This strategy is unlikely to be successful
because the application of ITIL is still an organizational reform initiative. It is important to embrace an ITIL culture in an organizational transformation plan to excel in adopting ITIL. The ITIL culture is mirrored in each employee's engagement and attitudes towards a new philosophy of IT support. The challenge is that the attempt to reform has a huge effect on ITIL 's time, expenditure, and risk application.
Technology is evolving more rapidly than ever, and IT administrators cannot keep themselves up to date on their expertise and knowledge. At the same time, international organizations are struggling to reach alignment with IT. ITIL is the latest phenomenon in the world. Indeed, in an AXELOS survey about the “importance of ITIL,” 52% of APAC respondents and 68% of participants in Latin America said ITIL is becoming more important because of current developments in the cloud and agile and ITIL is the ITSM system most commonly used in the world (Rongala, 2015). Therefore, thousands of organizations globally attempt to apply best practices to ITIL, including a growing number of small businesses. According to the results of this study, best practices include leadership support, training, growing into a patient ITIL-oriented culture, and embracing continuous improvement efforts.
In ITIL, service operation is a sub-part, which is made up of several operations and functions. The ITIL service operation aims to ensure efficient and efficient delivery of IT services. This phase includes the completion of user requests, the resolution of service failures, the correction of problems, and routine operational tasks. Accordingly, IT workers in small businesses are integral to the success of many modern businesses (Lamichhane, 2019). More small business IT operation employees are tasked with
managing and negotiating ITIL implementation, which could lead to changes in job performance, following the implementation of ITIL service operation that begins with leadership support, proper training, a patient ITIL-oriented culture, and continuous improvement efforts.
When it comes to making the process of implementing and using ITIL operations easier for IT personnel, there are a number of measures that can be taken, and the IT personnel and workers can enjoy several benefits. The ITIL architecture specifies how service administration, assisted by information management, can be effectively applied. ITIL training can be of immense benefit for individuals working in an IT environment or wherever IT services are a key competency. For certain businesses, the arrangements with the vendors are also primarily the obligation of the manager at the service point. Although this partnership is significant, the understanding is that service development and management is most successful when ITIL traditional control peers often create relationships around the various enterprises (Holland, 2015).
Organizations will note the intention of the consumers as they implement it: the workers before ITIL is introduced. Managers want simple and less complicated solutions to ITIL problems. To the workers, ITIL is typically long and convenient. However, some companies utilize an ITIL standardization system and comprehensive mechanism.
Furthermore, companies need to develop and fill in troubles if they want to improve quality and reduce redundant information. When groups work for the same goals, such as with an ITIL-oriented culture, the efficiency of the program's departments can
and a focus on continuous improvements with ITIL implementation can enhance its employees ' working experience.
It is necessary to note that ITIL is not a norm, but a structure and framework. Each ITIL method is not mandatory or fully practiced by organizations, the company should choose the areas (processes) best suited to its industry. The ITIL structure offers ITIL implementation guidelines on a small scale for organizations who want to adopt, but need to adjust according to their size. Therefore, when organizations implement ITIL practices, it has a significant impact on how employees go about handling it. Analysis of data helped understand that after implementing ITIL, IT processes have been optimized, with reduced conflicts between IT and business processes. Companies assign workers to engage in preparation and tests learn ITIL principles and obtain the credential of ITIL practitioners. The workers are educated in the best practices and know-how of ITIL and the everyday application of the ITIL system. It helps workers achieve and improve their efficiency in the IT climate.
Although the majority of respondents recorded the fact that ITIL had helped their employees in various aspects of the job, further training can add to this transition and bring about smoother operations. The ITIL Credential Base at ITSM offers students with in-depth experience and comprehension of best practices and procedures in IT service management. Employees qualify but opportunities are not limited to trained IT
practitioners, and can include company executives and business process owners who may obtain ITIL foundation training. These best practices can be developed to give direction in the implementation of service management with their corresponding publications and
certifications. The qualification course structure flow, ITIL version 3, is based on the Jakobs (2010) assertion by the ITIL V3 Foundation, which requires at least 17 units of Life Cycle Management to receive the ITIL Specialist Credential. ITIL Advanced Qualification is the highest degree of ITIL technical qualification. Interview analysis helped understand the fact that after ITIL implementation, and training of employees, the job performance of these employees was found to have significantly increased, but requires leadership understanding and support, proper training, and a commitment to a patient ITIL culture oriented toward continuous improvements.
Most IT infrastructure providers face problems and inefficiencies in the systems of business operations. Many causes have been established that have contributed to a lag